Anthony is co-founder of First Wealth, a financial planning firm built around a simple but radical idea: that wealth should be measured by wellbeing, not just numbers on a spreadsheet.
Anthony co-founded First Wealth in 2009 with business partner Rob Caplan in the wake of the financial crisis, convinced the industry needed a fundamentally different approach to financial advice. The firm has since been named Chartered Financial Planning Firm of the Year.
He has spent his career on both sides of the entrepreneurial equation – advising founders, investors and business owners through the moments that define their financial lives, and building businesses himself. Alongside First Wealth, he is the founder of fintech venture Open Advice and co-founder of financial education platform Thrive Money. That dual perspective shapes everything about how he works.
The psychology of money is a particular passion of AJ’s-the beliefs, behaviours and blind spots that quietly drive our financial decisions-and he believes understanding how people think and feel about money matters as much as the mechanics of it. He contributes regularly to industry podcasts and publications including IFA Magazine and Private Banker International, and is a strong advocate for evidence-based investing and for the role AI will play in making good advice more accessible.
The B Corp certification matters to him personally; it holds the business accountable to a standard of purpose that goes beyond profit.
Measure Wealth by Wellbeing®
Most financial planning starts with money. This starts with what matters most to you-and builds backwards from there. A framework developed over years of asking better questions before reaching for a spreadsheet.
The psychology of money
The beliefs, behaviours and blind spots that quietly drive our financial decisions matter more than most plans account for. Understanding how you think and feel about money is the starting point, not an afterthought.
Business owner advice
From profit extraction and corporate structures to exit planning and what comes after-helping founders build personal financial resilience alongside their business, not instead of it.
Angel investing and venture capital
Both as a personal investor and helping clients think clearly about early-stage allocations, EIS/SEIS structuring, and how high-conviction, high-risk capital fits within a broader financial life.
Intergenerational planning
A joined-up approach to IHT, gifting, trusts and family wealth-with the April 2027 pension changes making this more pressing than it has been in a generation.
Retirement and decumulation
Genuinely curious about-and actively building-what great financial planning looks like in an AI-enabled world. Not just as a user of tools, but as someone thinking carefully about what should and shouldn’t change.
What professional qualifications do you have?
Chartered Financial Planner, Chartered Wealth Manager, Certified Financial Planner
What is your favourite book?
The Magus, John Fowles
Best thing you ever spent money on?
Lapland (our family home in Dorset)
Describe your perfect weekend...
Beach, BBQ, beer and music with family.
What did you want to be growing up?
Centre midfield for Liverpool FC, Kenny Dalgliesh style.
